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Topic: Dreamland to rise again (Read 815 times)

Described time and again as the heartbeat of Margate, Dreamland was one of the UK’s oldest and best-loved amusement parks, as well as being a major entertainment venue. The site included a 16-acre amusement park with a zoo and miniature railway, 2,200-seat purpose built Cinema, cafés, restaurants, bars, shops and a 2,000-capacity ballroom, which has played host to The Who, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, T. Rex and Hawkwind to name but a few… For many generations Dreamland thrilled and delighted visitors to Margate and sustained her community. This community campaigned hard for a number of years to save the park from redevelopment and it will be this community spirit and support that will again help reinstate Dreamland as a world-class visitor attraction.The Dreamland Trust grew out of the 6-year long Save Dreamland Campaign and is now working in partnership with Thanet District Council and The Heritage Lottery Fund and a professional team, including multi-award winning HemingwayDesign, to create the world’s first amusement park of thrilling historic rides, classic side shows, eateries and evocative spaces set within a landscape designed to host themed festivals and special events,There are plans to see it rise once more, to bring back the wooden Grade II* listed scenic railway ride which was damaged in an arson attack in 2008. It's a ride that may not have the speed and gravity-defying plunges that many of today's fairs offer, but instead provides a link to the past, and the sounds of the cars on the wooden rails is one to savour.In addition to that, the Dreamland Trust is gathering historical rides from other fairgrounds around the UK.

this is something that i have been following over the last 5/6 years with great interest,firstly some of blackpool and southports classic rides and the important parts of rhyls waterchute (like blackpools) and other classics that are being lovingly restored along with the scenic.Perhaps after a good few years of decline in the seaside fairground industry this may spark a revival

there is currently a dreamland exhibition for people to go and enjoy,In its heyday, the theme park attracted two million people a year until it closed for good eight years ago as the crowds ebbed away. However, thanks to a multi-million pound investment, the Dreamland dream is still alive and there are plans to reopen next year.The Dreamland Expo, found in the old cinema complex on Margate seafront, may lack a stomach-churning roller coaster but has already welcomed more than 12,000 visitors in the six weeks since it opened. Crammed full of arcade artefacts and nostalgic Dreamland memorabilia, the expo celebrates the past, present and future of Britian’s oldest-surviving amusement park. It is free, allowing you to spend your coppers on the rows of arcade games such as the retro pinball machines.sadly pinball machines are disapearing,i used to love having a pint and a game of pinball in the pub